From one Selena to another, Jennifer Lopez says she can't wait to see Christian Serratos play the iconic singer in Netflix's Selena: The Series. In 1997, Lopez found her breakout role as an actress by starring in Selena, the acclaimed biopic about Selena Quantanilla-Perez. Ahead of the premiere of the new series next month, a video posted to Instagram features Lopez speaking about her time playing the Queen of Tejano music along with her excitement to Serratos in the role.
Speaking directly to the camera, here's what Lopez says in the video.
"Guys, I don't know if you've heard about this new Selena series on Netflix. Playing Selena was kind of a landmark moment in my career, and I was so excited when I saw the trailer and heard about it. It's a great way for this generation to get to know Selena. I love Selena, she was such a big part of my life and my career. And I can't wait to see it!"
Starring Jennifer Lopez in the lead role, Selena was written and directed by Gregory Nava. The movie was made in collaboration with Quantanilla-Perez's family, which included her father Abraham Quantinilla Jr. serving as a producer. Along with Lopez, the cast included Edward James Olmos as Abraham and Constance Marie as Selena's mother, Marcella. Chronicling the late singer's rapid rise to fame and tragic death, the movie was a star-making performance for Lopez, firmly establishing the actress as a leading lady in Hollywood.
Famous for her role as Rosita Espinosa on the AMC zombie drama The Walking Dead, Serratos will be the next star to portray the singer in a more expansive biopic series. The series will delve into Quantanilla-Perez's life starting from her childhood and leading up to her death in 1995. Madison Taylor Baez plays a younger version of Selena, and the cast also includes Ricardo Chavira as Abraham, Seidy Lopez as Marcella, and Noemi Bonzalez as Selena's sister Suzette. Moisés Zamora wrote the series with Hiromi Kamata directing.
Ahead of the premiere of Selena: The Series, Netflix and Quantinilla-Perez's father and sister have found themselves as the subjects of a lawsuit brought about by a movie producer. Moctesuma Esparza, who served as a producer for the 1997 movie, is arguing that he owns the rights to Quantanilla-Perez's life story and is seeking at least $1 million in damages. The lawsuit doesn't appear to have affected the streamer's plans to release the series on schedule early next month.
Relive the life and career of Selena Quantanilla-Perez when all nine episodes of Selena: The Series will begin streaming on Netflix on Dec. 4. The streamer has previously released a trailer for the series, which you can check out below. While Lopez certainly delivered an iconic performance of her own back in the 1990s, Serratos appears to be a fantastic choice to play the new Selena as seen in the trailer. The video of Lopez speaking about the series was posted by the official account for Selena: The Series on Instagram.